Ernest Zacharevic

The Making of Ernest Zacharevic (30 June 2012)


Edisi BM

The name Ernest Zacharevic is today synonymous with street art, particularly Penang street art. You can say that Ernest Zacharevic puts Penang street art on the map. But you can also say that Penang street art puts Ernest Zacharevic on the map, for the success is due not only to the artist himself, but to a lot of other people working behind the scene, people like his then publicist Gabija Grusaite, art patron Tan Chor Whye, George Town Festival director Joe Sidek, and even myself, each in his own way helped to unlock the doors. In this write up, I give you a glimpse into the making of Ernest Zacharevic, based on input from various persons including Mr Tan and Mr Sidek.

Ernest Zacharevic is an artist who attained worldwide acclaim for creating the street art murals for George Town Festival 2012. Born in Lithuania in 1986, Zacharevic arrived in George Town circa 2011 and was living there as a backpacker, where he earned a living doing paintings. One of these paintings was sold to a bicycle shop owner on Armenian Street. Displayed at the bicycle shop, the painted caught the attention of local art enthusiast Tan Chor Whye, who chanced upon it one day, liked it, and bought it from the bicycle shop. Recognising the talent of the young artist, Tan sought out Zacharevic, and managed to get his an assignment to paint a mural on a wall in Armenian Street. That mural is no longer extant, as it was executed using paint that is not suitable for the environment. When Zacharevic was working on that mural, he caught the attention of the authorities, which regarded it as a matter of curiosity.

One of the people who saw Zacharevic at work was George Town Festival director Joe Sidek. According to Mr Sidek, he invited Zacharevic to submit a concept proposal, which he brought into discussion with George Town World Heritage Incorporated and the then president of Penang Island Municipal Council, Dato Patahiyah. They liked the idea, and Zacharevic was given the approval to paint his murals.

At the time the murals were created, Zacharevic was represented by Gabija Grusaite as his publicity manager. According to Miss Grusaite, the murals were painted without any names to them, so I proceeded to give them names of my own, which is how the murals became known as Little Children on a Bicycle, Boy with Pet Dinosaur, This Old Man, Reaching Up, Girl in Blue, The Awaiting Trishaw Man and Boy On A Bike on my website.

Zacharevic's murals caught the attention of many people including myself, who promoted them actively on Penang Travel Tips. A search for "Ernest Zacharevic Penang murals" on Google will bring up the pages in Penang Travel Tips about them, which provides the exposure to other media channels.

Bouyed by the success of the George Town Festival 2012 murals, Zacharevic held his first solo art exhibition in Penang. Entitled Art is Rubbish is Art, it was held at the Hin Bus Depot and opened to the public from 19 January to 14 February, 2014. The use of Hin Bus Depot as an art centre can be attribute to Zacharevic, his then manager Miss Grusaite, and his art patron Mr Tan Chor Whye, who went with him to view the Hin Bus Depot site. They felt that it was right for Zacharevic's show, then he confirm with Hin Bus Depot's Mr. Tan Shih Thoe to use the site as his first show as well as for local and foreign artists to showcase their work.

Ernest Zacharevic can be credited with opening the door of street art in Penang for other artists to establish themselves. Among those who have since gained a foothold in the local art scene include Russian artist Julia Volchkova, Spanish artist Sabek, Argentinian artist Martin Ron, British artists Tom Powell and Gabriel Pitcher. Local artists have also benefited from the boost given to street art, among them Louis Gan, Kenji Chai and WK Setor.

Ernest Zacharevic continues to be active in the art scene with projects in New York City, Christmas Island, and other places all over the world. His murals also grace the walls of other Malaysian cities including Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh.

Tim with Ernest Zacharevic (20 January 2014)

Ernest Zacharevic Murals

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